New Year's Eve 2009

Its New Year's Eve and I am waiting to go out at 8.45pm to a party. Its a long time since we went out at this time of night. Hope we can stay awake until the end. Peter and Dillis from our Monday night euchre group rang us the other day and asked us to their place where they are having a gathering.


Well only a few hours until the end of this year. I can't believe it is 11 months since I retired. I have accomplished a few things I wanted to do......... volunteer work, going to New Zealand, some tidying up, finishing a long outstanding jigsaw puzzle and throwing a lot of things out. The getting rid of things will continue the beginning of next year. When I was a child the days seemed to be never ending or maybe it was because I never thought about time then.

It was lovely having Melissa for Christmas even though it was only for a short time. Melissa also discovered the M2 bus and was very happy with the service. Hope you enjoyed your stay Missy as much as I enjoyed you here.

I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and hope you have health and very exciting things happen to you in 2010.

Until next year...........................

On the buses

I have been blog less for some time now so I thought I would make an effort.

Last Saturday I decided to take the M2 bus into the city as I was meeting Kerry-Ann at the Opera House to see the ballet. When I got on the bus it was standing room only and this lady, whose little boy about 10 years of age was sitting next to her, said she would put her son on her lap and I could sit down. She said she didn't want her son to stand up as he was performing today and might get tired out. I asked where he was performing and she said at the Opera house in the ballet The Sleeping Beauty. What a coincidence I said, I am going to see that Ballet. Apparently he has been dancing for about 2 years and was chosen to work with the Australian Ballet. He was only of the rats in this particularly ballet and his mother told me what to look out for as he was dressed in five layers of costume and I wouldn't recognise him. We continued talking all the way into the city and I found out that she owns 2 of the Harvey World Travel agency, one at Blacktown and one at Seven Hills. I told her we go to the one at Winston Hills and she new all the people there. Also her other son has just started at Oakhill College so we had much to talk about.

This is the second interesting person I have met on my bus travels. The other one was a young girl backpacker. It started by her asking at the bus stop at QVB if this is where you get the hills bus and we happened to sit near her on the bus. I said she looked tired had she been doing a lot of travelling. It turned out she was from Germany and was staying in Canberra at a friend's house for 2 weeks who she met back home and the friend had returned the invitation to stay with them in Canberra. The last week she had been sightseeing around Sydney and in another week was heading off to New Zealand on a year long working holiday there. She showed me her diary and all the pictures and people she had met and as we left the bus she was writing in it and I couldn't help wondering if she was writing about us. We found out also that she was a house painter so Tony was able to discuss some aspects of painting with her.

Winston Hills Mall now has boom gates. This is to stop business people parking all day in there and catching the M2 bus to work. It is also to make sure that there is traffic congestion all around and that it takes some time to now enter the carpark and exit. I was in the line the other day waiting to collect a ticket to open the gate. As you do when you are waiting in a long line you daydream. Well not thinking I just followed the previous car in and the boom gate came down on me. Luckily when it touched it went up again. I was so embarrassed that I just drove in and I didn't have a ticket to get out again. I was in luck again because for the first 3 hours the out gates stay up. CCTV surveillance system probably has my number plate and think what a silly woman.

Not long now for Christmas. Sydney is looking forward to Melissa arriving and have even put up a Christmas Tree in Martin Place for her.

I will be going to RE Tebbut Lodge's residents Christmas Party on Friday lunchtime.

When I was at North Rocks today I ran into one of the residents, Ada, who had come on the bus with some other residents and my boss, Shirlee. Ada said that she had just brought me a Christmas present and proceeded to take out of packet of TimTams. I said are these to share with the other staff but she said they are all for you.

Discovering the M2 bus

It was over 40 degrees on Sunday and we decided to take the bus down the M2 to the City to attend the Wesley Mission Volunteer's dinner instead of driving in. This was our first time on the bus although some years back I used to catch the M2 bus to Epping sometimes when I worked there. This was Tony's first trip and he was kind of excited. Being so hot, we drove to the bus store but of course it is within walking distance. As we are now "seniors" the fare is only $2.50 and we were a bit nervous as we had not purchased one of these tickets on the bus before and were unsure of what to do and how they worked. Tony pushed me in first to ask for the tickets and then we took a seat at the back of the bus. It was one of those new buses where there are different floor levels but you have to be careful that you don't pick the seats that sit over the wheels. The trip took about 40 mins and we disembarked at the back of the QVB. We had borrowed a timetable from Rolf and Christa who catch the buses all the time and were able to see when the return buses left which was about every half hour and this would be in front of the QVB. There are 3 buses you can get 610 (which does not go through the Lane Cove tunnel by via Lane Cove) 610X (which does go through the Lane Cove tunnel) and the 619 (which goes via Macquarie Uni). So all in all it doesn't take much time this way to get into the City and we have decided to take this mode of transport in future. In fact I went in by bus this morning to go to the Conference Centre at Darling Harbour where Felise's Variety Christmas Party was held. After getting off at QVB it was only a short walk down the street and across the Pyrmont Bridge and you were there.

Some good news at last

Tony had a CT Scan and a bone scan during the last week and we went to see the Specialist this afternoon to find out how far the cancer had gone. Luckily it is contained in the prostate and Tony will be having a radical prostatectomy operation (ie is removal of the prostate) on the 11th January. So that is a relief and Tony will now be able to enjoy Christmas.

On Wednesday we were setting off to have lunch with some friends at The Entrance. We were just about to go onto the M2 when the car began acting up. We called the NRMA and they told us to take it to an auto electrician which we did. The auto electrician checked it out and said it was the automatic transmission and we would have to take it to an automatic transmission place as it was a specialised trade. We picked the car up today and it cost a total of $2200 to fix. Any other time Tony would be pulling his hair out over this but after what he has been through lately this was just another thing that had to be done.

Michael had a father's retreat last weekend so Kerry-Ann and the children came over on Saturday and stayed the night. Then on Sunday we looked after Felise and Jake while Kerry went to work. We took them to the park but it was rather hot so we didn't stay that long. We then went to McDonalds for lunch and after brought them one of those soft service ice creams each. You can just image how much mess they got into. I had to wash Felise's clothes out when we got home.

I won't be going to Tebbut Lodge this week as Felise's Christmas party is on at Darling Harbour and when I told Shirlee she was disappointed as she is beginning to rely on me now. The residents certainly enjoy their Trivia with me and have a good laugh. Even the gardening group has started to expand. Shirlee has been showing me some new programs she has in mind for me to do with the residents. I even got an invite to the residents Christmas dinner on the 6th Dec.

Also Tony and I are going to a volunteer's thankyou dinner at Wesley Mission on Sunday.

I'm having problems with Farmville again!!!!!! I am about to lose a whole crop of Sunflowers as I am unable to access my farm. Help..........

Shame to spoil a beautiful day.

Raymond Terrace - 31st October

It was such a beautiful day today you wouldn't want anything to spoil it. However that was not the case. The pest man came this morning to get rid of all those nasties that lurk in our back yard. After he finished Tony had an appointment with the specialist as he had a biopsy last week on his prostrate and we were going to get the results. It turns out Tony has prostrate cancer. The doctor said it seems to be contained in the prostrate but he made an appointment for Tony to go for a CT Scan tomorrow and a bone scan next week to make sure. If it is contained then he will have surgery to remove the prostrate altogether and that should be the end of it. Except of course for his recovery which will take up to at least six week or more.

Any other result we will deal with if it happens. It was all a bit of a shock as we were expecting it to be the same result as he had previously when his PSA reading was high.

Carol's husband Malcolm ( this is the couple who live at the back of us and I used to work with Carol) had his prostrate removed a couple of months ago and this has been helpful for Tony as he knows what to expect and is able to talk to Malcolm.

I have been a bit slack lately with my blogging but have had a lot on the calendar and looking after 2 farms and a cafe doesn't give you much time.

Back to the real world.......... Re the volunteer job at the fertility clinic I applied for. Out of the blue I got an email from them inviting me to a morning tea to meet the Manager etc and to explain what was involved. It said they were still sorting through the applications. So I will go along and see what it is all about. At least I will get a cup of tea and its only in Parramatta.

We are going for dinner with our New Zealand coach friends, Peter and Gina at the Ibis hotel

at Thornleigh tomorrow night. Then back to their place for coffee. They are still trying to be

matchmaker between Edwina and their son.

News on Tebbut next blog.

Back to winter again

It has been rather cold the last couple of days. Its also been raining but I don't mind that as we really need it. Its the cold I don't like going back to when it should be warming up.

Anyway not a lot to report from last week and the weekend.

Since I wrote the first few lines the weather has warmed up. Yesterday, it was overcast and there were a few spits of rain but I dragged the gardening club from Tebbutt outside to put mulch on the plants. We will be planting some dahlia's next week according to our Baptist minister that comes every so often with his plants and tools to administer his gardening acknowledge and put us on the right track. So we prepared the soil for these also.

After lunch I was at the microphone again asking a variety of trivia questions. One of the resident even told me when I arrived in the morning that he wouldn't be at trivia as he had to go

to hospital to have some tests done and that he was very disappointed.

When I get that microphone in my hands I change into a different person. It makes me feel as if I have all this power. Anyway, I made them listen to a poem I wanted to read and they all stayed. Maybe it was because it was too much of an effort for them to get out of their lounge chairs.

After trivia one of the older gentleman on a walking frame came up to me and said "I know where you are going now, home" I said "yes, that is right". He said "would you mind doing me a favour and buying me from the shops around the corner 4 packets of Continental Chicken Noodle Soup (4 in a packet) "and gave me $20. I said, "ok" but thought this is a bit of an nuisance as I had to get the car, drive down to the shops and come back again.

I hadn't been to these shops before but managed to stubble across them from the directions I had been given. There was a little supermarket, a hamburger/milkbar shop and some other shop. The supermarket did have packets of soup but there were no Chicken Noodle so I thought I would go to a convenience shop at Terry Rd I used to call into on my way home from Eastwood some years ago if it was still there . I found the shop but that too didn't have any Chicken Noodle. By this time I was getting rather fed up and just wanted to drive on home but I had this chap's $20 note and had promised him I would do it. I was now on a mission and was determined to get that soup so I headed towards Carlingford Court and Woolworths. Of course, when I entered the complex I got stuck in a line of traffic. I finally found a car space and rushed in a purchased the soup and headed back to Dundas. When I arrived I handed the bag and change to Vicki who said I was not to do that again as the residents were not allowed to ask me to do favours for them (I don't think she had noticed it had taken me an hour). That's ok with me but I suppose Les got a talking too.

Last night's show, Nightcafe, at the Riverside Theatre was a bit of a disaster too. It was billed as "Exhilarating dance and live gypsy music, whipped into a frenzy. It will have you jumping out of your seat wanting more. Nightcafe is an alcohol fuelled chaos where the audience will be ducking the flying furniture."

We were trapped on a stage and couldn't just sneak out. They were tossing wine bottles, glasses (all plastic of course) and chairs around and dancing with them for about an hour. Then they were getting the audience to get up and dance to music that was not very suitable. When there was a bit of a lull a couple of people got up and we followed them out and a number of people followed us. The best part of the evening was you could take food and drinks in and we had purchased a package of strawberries, cheese, dried apricot and biscuits to eat.

Melissa has booked her trip and will be spending Christmas with us. It will be nice to have all my fledglings together. She arrives in Sydney at 8.45am on Monday 14th December and will be departing at 7.50pm on Sunday 27th December. Have I got that right Melissa.

Great news Melissa.

Not much to say

Not much to report on the last week or so.....same o same o. We forgot little Michael's birthday last Sunday. We had noted it on the calendar so we wouldn't forget and then forgot to look at the calendar. Rang him last night and he seemed to have had a great birthday with 5 friends staying overnight. He got a bit of money for gifts and is saving up to buy some sought of bike..... he did say what it was but I have never heard of it.

Had a rather tiring day yesterday at Tebbutt as the weather was rather hot. I made everyone wear a hat and had to make sure they had sun lotion on for our garden club. We mostly did watering and put some mulch on the plants. I have to watch them when they have the hose gun as they turn around not thinking and wet everyone. One of the fish in the tank was sick so had to empty some water out and put in some medicine and fresh water and now the water is green. Hopefully this will fix him up.

Nellie was at exercises and was even moving her feet when she didn't think I was looking.
I think I am like a regular to them all now and expect me to turn up on Tuesdays.
Some of them certainly enjoy their trivia and this week I used the microphone so I didn't have to shout. I just found it hard to hear their answers as I am a bit deaf myself at the moment.
I got a bit carried away with the microphone and read to them about the life of Kingsford Smith. I told them all to listen carefully as I was going to ask them questions next week on him.

I went to the movies with Judy today and saw a good film called " Mao's Last Dancer" It is based on a best selling autobiography of Li Cunxin, a chinese ballet dancer who was invited to dance in the US and stayed. He married an Australian ballet dancer and now lives in Melbourne.


I mentioned previously that Tony was invited back to work on a casual basis. Well he has declined their offer and is sticking to doing little jobs for himself now an then.

Back on air at last.

You will be all pleased to know that we are back on air after 9 days of total isolation. I am able to get back to my farm and sought out the devastation. I now know how farmers must feel when their crops are ruined and all the money they must lose. I have replanted potatoes and couple of over vegetables and providing there are no other hiccups will be able to expand my farm when the crops are harvested.

Thank you Kerry- Ann who has been looking in on my farm and reporting the happening but unable to do anything about it. Also thank you David for letting me tend to your farm so I would not be completely lost.

Some things to tell you about David.......I know you just wanted a pig farm but in order to get this up and running I needed to plant some crops. At harvest I will then have some money to work with. Also I had to sell 1 horse and 2 of your goats to get enough money to buy the crops as I had spent the little money you had on fences etc. I will be able to sent these animals back to you as gifts. I hope you don't mind but I also adopted a couple of ugly ducklings that were found on other peoples property and needed a home...................doesn't this all seem real to you !!!!!!!

Sunday was the annual Buddy Walk and our family raised $1,110 towards this great cause. Unfortunately, David and Simone could not make this event as they were both still recovering

from flu like symptoms which they probably passed on to everyone on Saturday at Emily's 8th Birthday. Seriously, I hope you both are feeling better.

The weather was kind to us and we all meet at Circular Quay and walked across the Harbour Bridge to Nelson Park for a picnic. Felise didn't walk as far as she did last year as she had a "stitch in her side" . She was feeling better later and joined in with all the dancing but got a bit shy when a photographer wanted to take a photo of her. Jake had a great time too with so much open space and enjoyed wandering off.

We were entertained by the Japanese hip hop sensation "Love Junx" (all of whom have down syndrome). The crowd was enthralled with their amazing moves. After the performance Love Junx invited the audience to the dance floor to teach them a bit of hip hop and soon most of the Buddy Walkers were dancing to the beat including Felise.

We were all tired little teddies at the end of the day.

Photo taken at Zacs on my Birthday on Friday with David and Amanda, Gina and Peter and Tony. We are going to make this a monthly event.

Saturday was October Birthday day at Craig and Danielle's place. Emily turned 8 and scored a Sportacus suit which she would not take off for 2 days. Picture shows Emily in her Sportacus suit. (He is one of the characters in Tiny Town). One of her presents from David and Simone was a Goonies video and she was over the moon with this and wanted to watch it straight away.

Alvira and Jason were also there with their daughter Jazmin who is 5 months old. Jason was Craig's Best Man.

NEWS FLASH: Tony has been invited back to Fairfield Hospital to work on a casual basis........ will keep you updated.

I am so annoyed

There is a problem with Tony's facebook and I haven't be able to get on for 4 days now and I am hopping mad. I have sent them several emails and they say there are technical issues and are looking into the problem. This doesn't help my farm. All my crops are ruined and I was about to get enough money to expand my farm with those crops. I had planted potatoes and was expecting heaps of money but these would all have withered away by now.


Well I didn't win at cards on Monday night. In fact the only game I won was the last game.
Maybe the reason could have been that they decided to take all the 7s and 8s out of the pack.
This I believe and so did the majority of the others was stupid. Hopefully we can have them back in next week.

Had a good day at Tebbutt Lodge on Tuesday. I now have the run of the place and they even gave me a master key to get into all the rooms. I tend to take all the classes by myself these days as Vicki always seems to have other things to do. All the residents look forward to my trivia as when I arrive they always ask if we are having trivia. All except one gentleman who always shakes his head as much to say " you are not turning off the movie to play that silly game are you?" Only he is not able to speak but I'm sure he means that. I gave them some tricky puzzles this week that I had brought from home and they went down well. To my surprise even Nelly answered a couple of questions. I think she is getting used to me now. Although she does give me one of those looks now and then.

I have put in for another voluntary job. It was like applying for a real job that pays money. They wanted to know everything and asked for referees. I have sent the forms in and will see if I get an interview in the next 2 weeks. This one is an office job.

Happy 40th Birthday Kerry-Ann

Kerry-Ann celebrated her 40th Birthday with an evening out to dinner with husband, Michael on Saturday night and a sleep in on her birthday. Felise and Jake had a sleepover at our place and Kerry and Michael join us yesterday for a birthday lunch.

Unfortunately it was raining and we were unable to take the children to the park and into the fresh air. But we did have fun watching videos, playing hide & seek, building houses and lots of cuddles. Jake was a bit wary of Pinto and began to complain if he came near. I have never seen someone so obsessed with eating as Jake. Whenever it looked like I was going to get some food he would run to his high chair and demand to be seated.

We were going to go to the shops but as Jake was up around 5am he was ready for a sleep again at 9.30am so while he slept Felise and I built a house of blocks and played with the little dolls pretending they were coming to the house for a party. These little dolls were the ones Kerry and Melissa used to play with when they were little.

It was our turn today for Tony and I to have a sleep in.

Also last week was Craig's birthday. This is a picture of Craig with his Mum. Tony was painting at Margaret's and as Craig is on holidays he came over and they had lunch.

Euchre night, going for my 3rd win in a row. Rather large thunder storm at the moment so I will sign off to get dinner ready as it is a Public holiday today and cards are starting early at 6pm.

Another Wedding Another Birthday.

Saturday was rather windy when we arrived at Bel Haven Wentworthville for the wedding of Tony's ex work colleagues, Vicki and Neil at 4pm. We had the right day this time. The ceremony was held outside and the bride was late so I was glad when it was over so we could go inside and get warm. The place it was held at was where Catherine had her reception when she married Allan and it was then owned by Johnny Lockwood. Johnny was an actor and was on of the stars in 96 the serial on many moons ago.

After we had eaten and it was around 8.15pm and the speeches hadn't started we thought we

had better make a move before they did as it would be rude to walk out in the middle of them.....and you know how speeches waffle on. So we missed out on the wedding cake......and it looked such a lovely cake. We set our Navman on to Gordon Golf Club and headed for David's 60th surprise party. There were mainly teachers there from all the different schools he had taught and some from teachers college. They tell us David was surprised and had no idea that this was happening particularly as it was a couple of weeks after his birthday. Amanda had done a good job at organising and keeping it secret. David got a second surprise when we arrived and said he just thought we had not been invited.

This picture of the group was taken after everyone had left. Yes. I have on the same outfit I wore to the 50th Wedding Anniversary. Kristy did not attend as she had a migraine.

I have won the money for the second week in a row at our Monday Euchre night. Both times I have had to share 1st prize so hopefully I can win it by myself next week.

I looked after Felise and Jake as Kerry-Ann was working today instead of Thursday. So after hanging the clothes on the line, Jake having some yogurt and getting the children dressed we ventured off to Earlwood Library for Storytime for the under 5's. Felise got two chairs out, one for Jake and one for herself to sit on. They watched a short video then Steven read a few stories about pigs. Felise got a bit bored with the stories and proceeded to explore the library and give me lots of cuddles. Jake decided to stack all the chairs up and hide. When the singing started they both enjoyed this and Felise participated and Jake watched. They then coloured in pictures of a pig. This finished about 12 noon so then we went to McDonalds for lunch. When we pulled up at Mcdonalds Felise said "this is where David and Simone took me". We had nuggets and french fries and Felise polished off some for Jake. They then had a play in the playcentre before we returned home. After a drink of milk Jake was ready for a sleep and Felise got out the Lotto and won both games. We were just beginning to play a game where you take the children to Big school when Mummy came home.

Tomorrow is Craig's Birthday. Happy 39th Birthday Craig.

The red face of Luna Park

Photos of Bondi Beach and Luna Park

I awoke this morning and glance towards the open window and could see a red tinge outside. First I thought there was something wrong with my eyes so I got up and looked out. The sky was an eerie red/brown colour so I put on the news and found out it was a dust storm. Apparently there has not been one like this in Sydney since 1944. The wind has gradually been getting heavier throughout the day and rain is expected towards the evening. We have tickets to the Sounds of Ireland (something like Riverdance) at the Lyric Theatre at Star City tonight so I am hoping the weather is not going to be as bad as they expect.

A funny thing happened last Saturday. We were going to a wedding at 4.pm. I had arranged all the clothes we were wearing on the bed and was just about to wash my hair and get ready when I saw the wedding card and asked Tony did he want me to write it out. He said yes, so I got the invitation to make sure I spelt the names correctly and found that the wedding was not until the 28th, next Saturday. The thing is we had already made other arrangements for next Saturday .......Dancing 10 lunch at Raymond Terrace and in the evening brother, David's surprise 60th Birthday at Gordon Golf Club. So as we take another 3 people in our car to Raymond Terrace and we had to cancel, they have changed the date to 31st Oct. We will go to the wedding and then arrived later at David's party and he can get a second surprise.

AOTEAROA - Land of the long white cloud

On arrival in Christchurch we were taken to The Grand Chancellor hotel to meet up with our fellow travellers, Coach Captain, Leigh and Tour Director, Cheryl, for a welcome dinner. There were 25 on the tour; 17 of which had already completed a tour of the North Island. We were among the 8 that were only doing the South Island and we all seem to hit it off ok. The dinner was a delicious smorgasbord and after eating retired to our rooms for an early night as we had to be up at 5 am with bags packed and outside our door by 6pm the same time as breakfast. This sought of thing was to happen throughout the tour with the exception of Queenstown where we stopped in the same hotel for 2 days.

On our first day our coach left us to catch the Tranz Alpine train and would met up with us again at Arthurs Pass. The view from the train was breathtaking as it passed fields and farmland of the Canterbury Plains and followed the gorges and river valleys of the Waimakariri River into the South Alps. When we disembarked at Arthurs Pass we continued on to Hokitika to see skilled craftsmen carving Pounamo (Jade) or that was supposed to be what we saw but Tony and I decided to explore the town instead. After lunch with viewed the awesome Franz Josef Glacier and experienced a scenic helicopter flight with a snow landing.

We stayed overnight at Fox Glacier

Day 3 we travelled through the sub-tropical rainforest to Haast Pass and viewed the spectacular Thunder Creek Falls. Visited popular Arrowtown, a quaint and historic gold mining town. Continued on to picturesque Queenstown where our hotel room overlooked beautiful Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables mountain range. The mountains were allegedly named The Remarkables because they are one of only two mountain ranges in the world which run directly north to South. An alternate explanation for the name given by locals is that early Queenstown settlers, upon seeing the mountain range during sunset one evening, named them The Remarkables to describe the sight. We dined in style that night. Picture shows Tony and I with Peter and Gina, a couple who live at Thornleigh and dine at Zacs.
Day 4 was a free day in Queenstown. We took a ride by gondola to the skyline complex on Bob's Peak and discovered a view like no other spread out before you in a spectacular panorama. From Coronet Peak to the north, The Remarkables mountain range to the east and across the deep blue waters of Lake Wakatipu to Cecil and Walter Peaks in the southwest, it was magnificent and awe inspiring. The only time it rained the whole trip was this afternoon so we had lunch and ventured around the town. Late in the afternoon we boarded a vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw to cruise Lake Wakatipu and then enjoyed a wine tasting and dinner at Walter Peak High Country Station followed by a farm tour. I got to feed a baby lamb, it was awesome.

On the way back on the boat we had a singalong.

Day 5 we travelled through the breathtaking Fiordland National Park, where lush rainforests meet snow capped mountains. Then boarded the boat for an unforgettable cruise on Milford Sound, the most accessible of Fiordland's magnificent glacier fiords. Lush green rainforest clung to sheer rock walls washed with waterfalls and in the foreground was Mitre Peak, a majestic presence dominating the skyline. Tony got a fantastic video of the waterfalls but in doing so was drenched by the spray. The water in the lake was so calm and peaceful and you could see the reflection of the flora in the water. We returned to the lakeside town of Te Anau for an overnight stay at the Luxmore Hotel. On the long journey back, as there is only one road in and out of Milford Sound, they put on a New Zealand film called "Whale Rider".

Photos show the tunnel going into Milford Sound by coach & on the boat. Also the Kea which is a species of parrot found in forrested and alpine regins of the South Island. He was very tame and came up right inside the bus. He is used to tourists and wanted food but it is illegal to feed them as they must find the correct food for themselves and not eat our food which is junk to them.

Tony catching a fish in Te Anau

On day six we had the option of having an overnight stay with the local people in the countryside of Dunedin or at the Kingsgate Hotel. Everyone opted for the hotel. Dunedin is a university city of Scottish heritage and New Zealand's oldest city. This is where Kerry's husband, Michael was born and his Mum and Dad still live. I rang his Mum but we did not have enough spare time to visit her. The night before we arrived there had been riots among the students from different universities throughout the South Island. However, we didn't see any evidence of this when we arrived. We certainly felt a bit out of place as everybody walking along the street seemed to be students. Baldwin St in Dunedin is regarded by the Guinness Book of Records as being the steepest street in the world - 35% gradient

The next day we went to Larnach Castle in Dunedin. This was more like an magnificent old house rather than a castle but it did have the turrets on the top. It was built in 1871 and during our guided tour we heard about its tragic and scandalous history. After exploring the large garden we headed off along the Waitaki River to Omarama to see the Moeraki Boulders.

Tony standing on a Boulder

The Moeraki Boulders are huge spherical stones that are scattered over the sandy beaches, but they are not like ordinary round boulders that have been shaped by rivers and pounding seas. These boulders are classed as septarian concretions, and were formed in ancient sea floor sediments. They were created by a process similar to the formation of oyster pearls, where layers of material cover a central nucleus or core. For the oyster, this core is an irritating grain of sand. For the boulders, it was a fossil shell, bone fragment, or piece of wood. Lime minerals in the sea accumulated on the core over time, and the concretion grew into perfectly spherical shapes up to three metres in diameter.

The original mudstone seabed has been uplifted to form coastal cliffs. Erosion of the cliffs has released the three tonne captive boulders, which now lie in a haphazard jumble across the beach. Further erosion in the atmosphere has exposed a network of veins, which gives the boulders the appearance of turtle shells. Similar boulders occur at Shag Point, and the nearby swimming beach of Katiki. In Hawke's Bay in the North Island, scientists have found that the central core of similar boulders contained perfectly preserved skeletons of turtles, sea snails and extinct reptiles, such as plesiosaurs.

After spending the night at the Heritage Gateway Hotel in Dunedin we headed off pass picturesque Lake Pukaki and stopped and viewed Mt Cook. They say it is very rare to see Mt Cook as it is generally covered in cloud but we were lucky. We continued on to the glacier-fed lake of Tekapo, where we saw the Church of the Good Shepherd, situated right on the lakes edge. The glacial blue waters are amazing. This was day 8 and our farewell dinner was tonight back in Christchurch where our tour officially ends. The next day was a free day to enjoy the sights of Christchurch. We ventured to the Museum then on to the Botanical Gardens where we managed to get lost and found we had been walking around in circles. Eventually we found our way out. We walked for kms to find a Golf Club House so we could buy a golf shirt with an emblem on for David's 60th. We found one and also brought a cap to match. However, when we got it home found that it was a women's one as it buttoned on the opposite side.......what a shame we should have payed more attention. We did tell the lady it was for my brother.

Pictures or Coach Captain, Leigh and Tour Director, Cheryl - Our travellers companions -

Farewell dinner (on the left is Leigh, Christine, his mother, Gina and Peter and on the right, Tommy and Cathie, myself and Tony).

The final day all we wanted to do was get home. We really enjoyed our trip but could not have taken living out of a suitcase and strict schedule for much longer. Eight days on the coach was enough. We certainly couldn't have done the North Island as well. We were also lucky to have such a nice group of people that all got on so well and worked together otherwise it could have been a nightmare.

In the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch





Me walking like a penquin on Franz Josef Glacier